Treatment For Impotence

Most physicians suggest that treatment for impotence from least to most invasive. For many men, building a couple of healthful change in lifestyle might resolve the problem.

For instance i.e. quitting smoking, losing excess fat, and increasing physical exercise might help some men regain sexual function.

Minimizing any kind of medicines with harmful unwanted effects is considered next. For instance, drugs for high blood pressure levels work in various ways. If you believe a specific medication is causing issues with erection, tell your doctor and ask whether you can try a different class of blood pressure medicine.

Psychotherapy and behavior modifications in selected patients are considered next if indicated, followed by oral or locally injected drugs, vacuum devices, and surgically implanted devices. In rare cases, surgery involving veins or arteries may be considered.

Psychotherapy

Experts often treat psychologically based impotence using techniques that decrease the anxiety associated with intercourse. The patient's partner can help with the techniques, which include gradual development of intimacy and stimulation. Such techniques also can help relieve anxiety when ED from physical causes is being treated.

Drug Therapy

Drugs for treating impotence can be taken orally, injected directly into the penis, or inserted into the urethra at the tip of the penis. In March 1998, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Viagra, the first pill to treat impotence. Since that time, vardenafil hydrochloride (Levitra) and tadalafil (Cialis) have also been approved. Additional oral medicines are being tested for safety and effectiveness.

Research on drugs for treating impotence is expanding rapidly. Patients should ask their doctor about the latest advances.

Vacuum Device

Mechanical vacuum devices cause erection by creating a partial vacuum, which draws blood into the penis, engorging and expanding it. The devices have three components: a plastic cylinder, into which the penis is placed; a pump, which draws air out of the cylinder; and an elastic band, which is placed around the base of the penis to maintain the erection after the cylinder is removed and during intercourse by preventing blood from flowing back into the body.

One variation of the vacuum device involves a semi-rigid rubber sheath that is placed on the penis and remains there after erection is attained and during intercourse.

Surgery

Surgery usually has one of three goals: -

• To implant a device that can cause the penis to become erect
• To reconstruct arteries to increase flow of blood to the penis
• To block off veins that allow blood to leak from the penile tissues

Implanted devices, known as prostheses, can restore erection in many men with impotence. Possible problems with implants include mechanical breakdown and infection, although mechanical problems have diminished in recent years because of technological advances.

Malleable implants usually consist of paired rods, which are inserted surgically into the corpora cavernosa. The user manually adjusts the position of the penis and, therefore, the rods. Adjustment does not affect the width or length of the penis.

Inflatable implants consist of paired cylinders, which are surgically inserted inside the penis and can be expanded using pressurized fluid. Tubes connect the cylinders to a fluid reservoir and a pump, which are also surgically implanted. The patient inflates the cylinders by pressing on the small pump, located under the skin in the scrotum. Inflatable implants can expand the length and width of the penis somewhat. They also leave the penis in a more natural state when not inflated.

Surgery to repair arteries can reduce impotence caused by obstructions that block the flow of blood. The best candidates for such surgery are young men with discrete blockage of an artery because of an injury to the crotch or fracture of the pelvis. The procedure is almost never successful in older men with widespread blockage.

Surgery to veins that allow blood to leave the penis usually involves an opposite procedure intentional blockage. Blocking off veins can reduce the leakage of blood that diminishes the rigidity of the penis during erection. However, experts have raised questions about the long-term effectiveness of this procedure, and it is rarely done.

Oral treatment

3 different tablets are currently available from the doctor and these works when there is sexual stimulation. Depending on the treatment, it will need to be taken 20 minutes to 1 hour before sex and the period of time over which it works can vary between 3 hours and up to 36 hours.

Alprostadil

This can be injected into the penis or inserted using a special applicator - usually just before sexual intercourse.

Alprostadil has also become available in some countries as a topical cream and preliminary studies have shown a clinical efficacy of up to 83%. It has an onset of action of 10-15 minutes and its effects can last over 4 hours.

Hormone treatment

It is rare, but some men receive hormones for their erection problem. This does depend on the cause of the problem as well as other factors.

Alternate Treatment For Impotence

Zinc

Zinc is known to help prevent the conversion of testosterone to estradiol, and testosterone is essential for proper erectile function and the synthesis of sperm (testosterone deficiency is a primary contributor in many cases of erectile dysfunction). Moreover, zinc levels have been found to be significantly reduced in both chronic bacterial prostatitis (CBP) and non-bacterial prostatitis (NBP). Many doctors and nutritionalists recommend zinc for prostate or erectile problems.

Zinc is best taken in lozenge form, as in tablet form, zinc is difficult to absorb, and can irritate the stomach lining.